Cataclysmal
by cacodaemonic
Summary: 'Beware the darkness in two hearts. Together, scars and shadows will bring about a storm that quenches the blazing forest.' A kit with unknown origins is discovered in the forest. A young apprentice is rejected by his father. Two paths lie before them...and both will destroy the essence of the clans as they know it.
1. Prologue - Part 1

The feeble sunlight of the rising sun shone weakly through the light layer of mist, causing drops of dew to glimmer as they caught the light. The sleek shapes of SkyClan's dawn patrol slid through the trees, their eyes bright and watchful. The bracken-coloured cat that led the other two had his jaws parted, his eyes narrowed as he tasted the air.

"What is it?" The gray she-cat meowed, stopping in her tracks and flicking her tail out to block her apprentice from moving forward. "Sunstripe?"

"A loner, Feathermist," Sunstripe replied, wrinkling his nose at the sharp, unfamiliar scent. "Not fresh, but I'd say they were here sometime during the night."

"Are we going to fight?" The young cat asked eagerly, his eyes bright with anticipation. He was kneading the ground with excitement, ears pricked for any sound of movement. "I want to practice my battle moves, I bet I could take on a dumb loner!"

His mentor flicked his ear with her tail. "Hush, Nettlepaw," she said sternly. "Loners aren't as dangerous as rogues, but one would still be more than a match for a half-trained apprentice."

"And besides, it seems as if they're already gone," Sunstripe said. But even as he said this, he stared deep into the bracken, looking thoughtful and puzzled. He had caught a faint whiff of an unfamiliar cat scent, neither SkyClan nor ThunderClan, even though they were right by the border.

Just then, a tiny wail shuddered through the air. Sunstripe stiffened, straining his ears and nose. Beside him, Feathermist's eyes had gone very wide, and even Nettlepaw was being uncharacteristically silent. Another faint cry sounded from the undergrowth, from where Sunstripe had identified the strange scent.

Sunstripe bounded forwards, pawing delicately at the fronds. A flash of sunlight glanced off of a silver pelt as he did so, revealing the milky scent of a very young kit. A kit barely hours old was curled in a tight ball, shivering and letting out feeble little cries of distress.

 _This is not a clan cat_ , Sunstripe realized, staring at the kit's fluffy silver pelt and unusual black markings. _What queen would abandon their kits?_

Feathermist came up beside him, silent as she took in the scene.

"Sunstripe, what do we do?" She whispered, almost horrified at the idea that a kit would be left to die on its own.

The kit squirmed towards their scent, blinking open misted blue eyes that were dazed and confused. Sunstripe bent down to sniff it, and couldn't help a purr when it attempted to nuzzle into his touch. The kit carried no scent of any clan, and its mother was nowhere to be seen.

"We keep him," Sunstripe decided. "It has been a hard leaf-bare, and Ebonyflower has plenty of milk since two of her kits died. SkyClan would do well to have more kits."

Feathermist shot him a knowing glance. She knew that was not his true reason – she had caught the way his eyes had softened at the sight of the kit. Sunstripe's mate and two kits had both perished in the bitterly cold leaf-bare, all three having succumbed to greencough.

Sunstripe knew that it would be very difficult to convince SkyClan to take in a kit who was not their own, even though the warrior code told them that kits were the responsibility of all. But he hoped that his own status as a senior warrior and future deputy of SkyClan, along with the lack of kits in the nursery, would persuade the clan to accept the kit as a member of the clan.

He gently picked up the feather-light kit by the scruff, feeling it go limp in his hold, and started back to camp. Feathermist and Nettlepaw followed him silently and without question.

 _Life has already been harder for you than most, little one, he thought. But may SkyClan be a safe haven for you…Havenkit._


	2. Prologue - Part 2

The SkyClan cats slowly made their way back to their camp, their heads and tails drooping in defeat, weariness settling deep in every one of their bodies. The patrol consisted of two warriors and two apprentices, none of which had escaped unscathed. The she-cat that led the group had clumps of fur missing from her pelt, and was bleeding from a scratch above her eye, and the tom that brought up the rear was wincing every time his back paw touched the ground.

It was clear, however, that the two apprentices had fared the worst. The pale gray tabby was limping heavily, staggering awkwardly because of a wrenched shoulder. The black cat, dappled with patches of red and gold, walked slowly by his side, the fur on his face matted with blood from a slash on his face.

"You two should go see Ripplewind," the she-cat meowed, nudging concernedly at the gray tabby. "Get that shoulder seen to, Whisperpaw. And you, Emberpaw – it's a good thing ThunderClan's deputy missed your eye, otherwise we'd have an even bigger problem to deal with."

But before either of them could make their way to the medicine cat's den, a broad-shouldered dark tabby appeared in front of them. His head was held high with confidence, and his pelt was sleek but marked with many scars of past battles. When he caught sight of the patrol, his eyes widened with disbelief.

"What happened, Larktail?" He demanded of the she-cat at the forefront of the group, staring at the battle-stricken warriors. "Didn't you meet with Ashclaw and demand our territory back?"

Larktail shook her head. "We met with Ashclaw, all right – him and an entire battle patrol of ThunderClan warriors. We had no chance."

"What a bunch of fox-hearts," Hazelnose, the clan deputy, growled. She padded forward to stand beside the clan leader, surveying the battle-worn cats with concern and anger. "Aspenstar, you _have_ to meet with Fallowstar. SkyClan will not be taken advantage of by any clan."

Aspenstar nodded, but he did not turn to look at his deputy. Instead, he fixated on the two young apprentices, his eyes narrowing as he caught sight of their injuries.

"Your sons fought as well as they could," Larktail mewed, noticing his gaze. "Neither of them were experienced enough to fight in a battle like this. They were lucky to even have escaped."

Emberpaw did not meet his father's gaze out of shame, resisting the urge to press closer to his brother or mentor, Falconleap, for comfort. The entire battle had been a whirl of wild terror and pain to him. Ashclaw had pinned him down and scored his claws across his face as Emberpaw had struggled desperately to break free. He was certain that Ashclaw would have killed him, warrior code be damned, if Falconleap had not raced over and rammed into Ashclaw's side before he delivered a deadly blow.

"Go find Ripplewind," Falconleap told the apprentices gently. "Especially you, Emberpaw. That wound is definitely going to scar."

"Good," Aspenstar said coldly. Emberpaw stared up at him, his one good eye staring up in shock at his father. He'd never heard his voice so icily dismissive, even though his father had never seemed to like him as much as he did Whisperpaw. "Let it be a lesson to him – a brand of his cowardice and a reminder of his shame."

Emberpaw took an involuntary step backwards, half-aware of Whisperpaw staring at him in disbelieving horror and both Falconleap and Larktail looking taken aback. His mind was reeling with the sharp pain of rejection that sliced through him, sharper than Ashclaw's blow and more agonizing than the throbbing wound on his face.

Aspenstar stalked away to his den without a single look back, leaving Emberpaw to stare after his father, his chest heaving with the effort to breathe.

"Emberpaw?" Whisperpaw said uncertainly, his eyes wide with concern.

Emberpaw turned and fled from the camp, his blood pounding in his ears, with nothing in his mind but to run as far away from the bitter anguish of his father's words as he could.

* * *

 **A/N: Thanks to all my lovely readers so far. I read Warriors a while back, and unfortunately, I don't have the same love for it that I did before. However, I did still have the outlines of a fanfic saved on my computer, and I wanted to write it - but with more of the influences that show in my more current stories.**

 **This means that there will be some unconventional themes - including _many_ dysfunctional families and a homosexual romance.**

 **Yes, I'm aware that cats can't be gay. Cats also can't talk to their warrior ancestors in the sky, though, so I will take all criticisms with a grain of salt.**

 **If you don't approve, I am certainly not forcing you to read. You are entitled to your own opinions, as I am to mine. Bear in mind that this is a work of _fiction_ , and as such, absolutely should not be taken seriously.**

 **This fic takes place many, many years before the original arc, meaning _before_ the clans traveled to the lake, and before SkyClan was driven out of the forest. There will be no canonical characters in this fic, unless it is a StarClan cat.**

 **Thanks for reading.**

 **\- Cacodaemonic**


	3. Chapter 1

"Hurry up, Havenkit!"

Havenkit stumbled as he fought to keep up with the dark-furred kits ahead of him. Not only were Duskkit and Ravenkit older than he was by a moon and quite a bit larger, they already had long, strong legs like the rest of the SkyClan cats.

"You're so _slow_ ," Ravenkit complained, skidding to a stop to look exasperatedly back at him. She waited impatiently for him to catch up, while her brother, Duskkit, bounded on ahead. "Nettlefur's never going to take us to see the territory if you can't even keep up on the way out!"

"I'm _trying_ ," Havenkit mewed, frustration prickling at his pelt, but Ravenkit had already turned to join her brother and hadn't heard him at all. Ravenkit and Duskkit had never tried to hide the fact that they didn't like him very much at all – but that wasn't really a surprise, since most cats in the clan didn't.

A mottled brown tom padded up behind Havenkit, nudging him gently with his nose.

"Come on. Your denmates are getting impatient," Nettlefur, the clan's newest warrior mewed. He was one of the few cats who seemed to at least tolerate Havenkit, though he suspected that it was because Nettlefur felt sorry for him. After all, Havenkit had been found by a patrol several moons ago, without any indication of who his parents might be, or even where they were from. On top of that, he was much smaller than the rest of his clan – about the same size as Gingerkit and Fleetkit, who were three moons younger than him.

"There's no reason why Ravenkit and Duskkit should have to limit themselves for a stray," came the cool voice of a sleek, black-furred she-cat. Ebonyflower, Ravenkit and Duskkit's mother, and Havenkit's foster mother – not that she had ever acted like it. She had always seemed to resent Havenkit, for his unknown origins and for taking her attention away from her own beloved kits. "In any case, Nettlefur, don't you think he would attract too much attention?"

Havenkit scuffed his paws against the ground, his ears flattening involuntarily back against his head, and gave his pelt a few self-conscious licks. It was true. All of his clanmates had sleek fur that blended in with the foliage and colours of the forest, but his fur was a bright silver that gleamed in the light and nearly glowed in the dark, with strange, spotted black markings that blended into streaks across his back. He dreaded the thought of hunting for the first time, because he knew that all the prey would be able to see his treacherous pelt from fox-lengths away.

With a sudden burst of furious energy, he dashed forwards, intent on at least escaping Ebonyflower's dismissive words. All of a sudden, he crashed headlong into something very hard and firm. He stumbled backwards and collapsed in a heap on the ground, shaking his head dazedly.

"Watch where you're going," the young cat that he had run into growled. He had dark fur, dappled with dark red and gold that made Havenkit think of patches of sunlight shining through the thick leaf cover onto the forest floor. His odd eyes, one green, one gold, narrowed when he realized who it was. Thick scars of deep claw-marks were scored across his green eye, marring his features.

"It was an accident," came a quiet interjection from the young cat who had been walking beside Emberpaw. Whisperpaw, Emberpaw's brother, was as different from Emberpaw in character as he was in appearance. He was a pale gray tabby with gold eyes, and one of the kindest cats in the clan to Havenkit.

"Sorry, Emberpaw," Havenkit muttered, even as the older tom whirled away and stormed off. He hung his head, both in disappointment and frustration.

"Don't be," Whisperpaw said. "He's in a bad mood because of me. It's not your fault, Havenkit." With that, he padded lightly away after his brother, who had disappeared within the apprentices' den.

"Strange," Nettlefur commented as he watched the apprentices go, beckoning Havenkit forward with his tail. "I've never seen those two fight before. Well, it's not any of my business, anyway. Aspenstar and Hazelnose won't let me take you three very far outside the camp, but I'll show you all the hollow we use for battle training," he added as he approached Duskkit and Ravenkit, who were waiting impatiently by the camp entrance. They didn't seem any less excited by this statement of fact, and raced out of camp, yowling with excitement.

As they made their way back to camp, a while after sun-high had gone and passed, Havenkit reflected that he should have known that their little excursion would have been less than enjoyable for him. Duskkit and Ravenkit had spent most of the time tussling with each other on the smooth earth of the hollow, kicking up stray leaves and twigs while Nettlefur watched in amusement. Havenkit had sat on the side, envious of the strength behind his denmates' wiry muscles, and daydreaming of growing to become the fiercest warrior in SkyClan, powerful enough so that he could send either of his denmates flying with one swipe of his paw if they ever jeered at him again.

As Nettlefur led the kits back into the camp, they heard a commanding yowl. A handsome, broad-shouldered tom stood on the Skyledge, his piercing golden gaze sweeping across the SkyClan cats.

"Let all cats old enough to climb the Ancient Oak gather beneath the Skyledge to hear my words!"

Havenkit glanced around curiously. With Aspenstar on the Skyledge was a sleek-furred gray tom, looking calm and composed as he sat behind the clan leader.

"Oh, there you two are," came Ebonyflower's voice. She swept her two kits away to a spot near the front of the Skyledge, purring as she started to groom their dust-stained pelts from their expedition to the training hollow. Nettlefur padded away to sit next to his former mentor, Feathermist, leaving Havenkit to sit alone at the edge of the hollow.

"There are two things I must address today," Aspenstar announced. His authoritative gaze swept the clan, lingering for just a fraction of a second longer on Havenkit. He tried to make himself smaller than he already was, unable to meet his leader's eyes. "Firstly, that the sun-high patrol has found ThunderClan scent on our territory, along with pigeon feathers and the blood of fresh-kill."

Yowls of outrage met Aspenstar's words. Havenkit watched the furious cats with wide eyes, staring at the way their pelts bristled in anger and how they sunk their unsheathed claws into the ground. Even Gingerkit and Fleetkit, sitting at the nursery entrance with their mother, Honeypounce, were squeaking energetically as they swiped at each other with their stubby paws, though it was more likely from excitement than anger.

 _Will I ever feel that kind of loyalty for a clan that doesn't even want me?_

He had no time to dwell on the thought, because Aspenstar was already moving on.

"And secondly, Ripplewind has informed me that he is ready to take on an apprentice."

Murmurs of surprise now swept through the clan, chasing away the angry yowls in response to Aspenstar's first announcement. Ripplewind's ear twitched, but he remained otherwise completely still.

"Whisperpaw has decided to start training under Ripplewind, to become SkyClan's next medicine cat."

 _So that was why Emberpaw was fighting with him!_ Havenkit came to the sudden realization, watching the tabby tom pad up towards Ripplewind and touch noses with him. Emberpaw was glaring down at his paws, looking mutinous. Even so, he still cheered Whisperpaw's name with the rest of the clan, though perhaps lacking the warmth that his brother deserved.

"I want to learn _everything_ ," Havenkit heard Whisperpaw mewing excitedly to Ripplewind. "How to recognize illnesses, and treat injuries, and interpret omens from StarClan –"

"All in good time," Ripplewind replied, with a purr in his low, steady voice. He caught sight of Havenkit watching them, and paused in his conversation with his new apprentice. He seemed to stare through Havenkit, without really seeing him, his eyes unfocused and gleaming with a strange sort of light that reminded Havenkit of starlight glinting off puddles at night.

"And I think you'll find, Whisperpaw," Ripplewind continued, as if nothing had happened, though his eyes were still fixed on Havenkit. He squirmed uncomfortably, fighting the urge to flee from Ripplewind's ominous tone. "That some omens are not nearly as straightforward as you think – and sometimes the only way to see whether something will bring salvation or destruction is simply…to wait."


	4. Chapter 2

Havenkit tapped a ball of moss with his paw sending it rolling across the nursery floor. He watched as Gingerkit and Fleetkit raced after it with excited squeaks, curled up from inside his otherwise empty nest.

Since Ravenpaw and Duskpaw had been apprenticed, Ebonyflower had returned to her warrior duties. Havenkit wasn't particularly sad to see her go – she'd never liked him – but it was a little lonely, isolated in his cold nest. At least Honeypounce seemed to be acting significantly kinder towards him, without the presence of Ebonyflower's cool disdain.

"Are you excited, Havenkit?" Honeypounce mewed, watching as Havenkit sent the moss ball skittering across the floor again with Gingerkit and Fleetkit in hot pursuit. She was a pretty young queen, with ginger fur so pale it seemed almost golden, and kind amber eyes. "Your apprentice ceremony is today, after all."

Havenkit shrugged. "I guess."

It would be a nice change, he supposed. He'd have something to do during the day, at least. And maybe if he proved himself to be an amazing warrior, he'd be able to earn some respect from his clanmates. He wasn't particularly looking forward to sharing a den with Ravenpaw and Duskpaw again, though.

"Let all cats old enough to climb the Ancient Oak gather beneath the Skyledge to hear my words!"

Havenkit leapt to his paws, suddenly eager to prove himself to the clan. He padded lightly to the foot of the Skyledge, tilting his head back to stare at Aspenstar, who was gazing down at the clan. His face was impassive when he spoke, his voice cool and inflectionless.

"The time has come for me to name a new apprentice," Aspenstar announced. "Havenkit, come forward."

Havenkit struggled a little to climb up the Skyledge, his shorter legs much clumsier than those of the clanborn cats. He heard a snicker from the watching cats and felt his pelt prickle hotly with embarrassment.

He felt a cat nudge him from behind, allowing him to find his footing and clamber awkwardly on top of the stone ledge, scrambling to his paws to stand beside Aspenstar. He craned his neck around to see who it had been, and caught sight of a large golden-brown tom, sitting at the base of the Skyledge with his tail curled neatly over his paws.

 _Sunstripe_ , he thought in surprise. _What's he doing?_ Sunstripe had never taken much interest in him at all, though Havenkit had sometimes seen him watching him and his denmates from a wary distance. He turned back around, facing the rest of the clan beneath the Skyledge. He could feel the eyes of the entire clan on him, and immediately dropped his gaze to stare down at his paws.

"Havenkit, you have reached the age of six moons, and it is time for you to be apprenticed," Aspenstar meowed. "From this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Havenpaw."

Aspenstar paused, his gaze sweeping over the assembled cats, before he continued. There was a hard sort of glint to his golden eyes, glittering with an emotion Havenpaw couldn't place.

"Sunstripe," he announced, with narrowed eyes. Havenpaw started as Sunstripe padded up the Skyledge to stand beside him, watching Aspenstar calmly. "Now that Briarthorn has become a warrior, you are ready to take on another apprentice. You have shown yourself to be a skilled and bold, and I expect you to pass on all you know to this apprentice."

Havenpaw had to stretch upwards to touch noses with his new mentor, unable to read the emotion in Sunstripe's eyes. Sunstripe's eyes were gleaming with neither kindness nor cruelty, but Havenpaw was unsettled by the careful neutrality in his gaze.

A frosty silence had settled over the SkyClan cats, jarringly different from the warm meows of encouragement that would usually greet a new apprentice. Havenpaw lowered his head, feeling a vague, cold sense of hurt wash through him. He noticed Sunstripe leaping deftly down from the Skyledge and hurriedly tensed his muscles to do the same, but misjudged the distance and stumbled as he landed. Sunstripe made no move to help him, but simply watched as Havenpaw regained his balance, burning with embarrassment.

"Congratulations," came a kind mew. Havenpaw looked up to see Honeypounce twitching her whiskers warmly down at him. Gingerkit and Fleetkit wove in and out of her legs, nearly tripping her up in their excitement.

"Teach us the battle moves you learn, Havenpaw!" Gingerkit begged, as Fleetkit nodded vigorously in agreement.

"We'll see about that," Sunstripe replied for him. He flicked his tail over Havenpaw's flank, beckoning him to follow as he padded towards the brambles that surrounded the camp. "Come. You need to be shown the territory, and then we must hunt for the Clan."

Havenpaw scrambled to catch up to his new mentor as they left the camp. He tipped his head back to stare at the trees that seemed to plunge upwards into the sky forever, amazed at the vastness of the sparse forest, his ears twitching as he caught the sounds of prey skittering inside the trees.

"This way," Sunstripe called, bounding up to the top of the slope that their camp lay nestled in with a single thrust of his long, strong legs. Havenpaw followed him at a much slower speed, flattening his ears against his head when he sensed Sunstripe's impatience. Neither of them said anything, though: Sunstripe didn't even comment on Havenpaw's pace, but stopped every so often to allow his apprentice to catch up.

"Scent the air," Sunstripe said, once they had walked several ways away from camp. "Do you smell anything?"

Havenpaw's nose twitched as he sniffed, desperate not to disappoint his mentor. He caught the scent of something cool and fresh, with hints of a faint, tangy prey-smell and the muskiness of mud. "It smells like…like the puddles that form in camp after it rains," he said finally to the ground, not looking up at Sunstripe. "Except…bigger?"

"Very good." Havenpaw chanced a glance up at Sunstripe, who looked faintly pleased with him. He felt his heart surge with delight at the words, shuffling his paws in embarrassment. "That's the lake, and it's the path we take to Gatherings on the island. Come."

They followed the glistening lakeshore, Sunstripe pointing out the Island, until Sunstripe stopped again. Havenpaw saw that the sparse coverage of their territory was thickening, dotted with trees that had needle-like leaves and a sharp, cloying scent.

"Remember this scent," Sunstripe ordered. Havenpaw took a deep inhale, smelling a strange cat-scent that was layered with an underlying bitterness, wrinkling his nose at the unfamiliarity. "This is the ShadowClan border. They gave up some of their territory for us a long, long time ago, when SkyClan came back to the forest. Don't let that fool you into thinking that they are our friends – ShadowClan warriors have no sense of honour. We've found their scent on our territory recently, many times."

Havenpaw shivered at the solemn warning. He was already so on edge – straining to remember the scent, his mind flashing with the image of furious cats invading their territory – that when he heard the rustle of fur brushing across the undergrowth and faint, distant voices, he nearly leapt out of his fur. Sunstripe's ears flicked, his amber eyes narrowing as he turned in the direction of the voices.

"ShadowClan patrol," he told Havenpaw. "We'll see if they decide to cross onto SkyClan territory again."

Three cats slunk into view, dark-pelted and broad-shouldered, even the apprentice that seemed barely older than Havenpaw himself. The leader of the patrol, a graceful-looking she-cat with gleaming golden eyes stopped abruptly, casting her gaze across the border.

"What is it?" The apprentice asked eagerly.

"SkyClan, Pinepaw," the she-cat replied. "Not enough cats to be a patrol, though."

"No point staying hidden now," Sunstripe muttered to Havenpaw, beckoning him forward with a flick of his tail. "Greetings, Ambertail."

"Sunstripe," Ambertail said in acknowledgement, surveying him and Havenpaw, who fought the urge to shrink in on himself. "Showing your apprentice the territory?"

The other cat in the patrol, a dark-furred tom with a thick ruff around his neck, stared at the two SkyClan cats as well. "Unusual pelt, for a SkyClan cat – any cat, really. Are you sure he wasn't swept down into SkyClan territory by the current from RiverClan? Or maybe by a breeze down from WindClan?"

Havenpaw burned with embarrassment, but at the same time, fear sparked inside of him. Could it be true? Was it possible –

"Don't be ridiculous, Snakefang, we're upstream from RiverClan," Sunstripe said easily, so that Ambertail's eyes gleamed with reluctant amusement. "And I'm not sure any breeze would be strong enough to carry a kit over the lake." Havenpaw's ears remained flattened though, crouched down defensively a little bit behind Sunstripe. Snakefang's oddly interested gaze seemed to scour him and see straight into his heart, past his silvery fur and odd black markings and small frame.

"Come now, Havenpaw," Sunstripe added, flicking his tail down Havenpaw's side. "We have much more to see, and it's almost sunhigh already."

Havenpaw trotted after his mentor, uncomfortable under the penetrating gaze of Snakefang. He was relieved when they headed deeper into SkyClan territory, away from the ShadowClan border.

The rest of the tour of the territory was rather uneventful. They met no other cats along the way, not even a ThunderClan patrol at the border. Sunstripe had caught a fat pigeon on the way back, however, with a mighty leap that had let him snatch the unsuspecting bird from midair, and was now carrying it by one wing in his mouth. Havenpaw had watched enviously, furious at himself for his own small stature and thin, skinny body.

"You must be tired," Sunstripe said in a mew muffled by the pigeon's feathers as they entered the camp, the sun already starting to set. Havenpaw's legs were aching; he'd never walked so far and for such a long time before. "Go pick something out from the fresh-kill pile, and meet your new denmates. We'll start hunting practice at dawn tomorrow."

Havenpaw nodded, padding over to the fresh-kill pile, his stomach feeling hollow with hunger. Ebonyflower had never let him have very much milk, perhaps thinking he was stealing from her own kits, and he'd always been fearful of taking too much fresh-kill – he'd heard warriors complaining about him, an outsider, a stray, taking their hard-caught food. Perhaps that was the reason for his size. But once he'd learned to hunt, they couldn't say anything anymore…right?

For now though, Havenpaw selected a small sparrow and made his way over to where the apprentices sat to eat, lingering on the edges of their easy conversation, about a fox-length away from the others. He ate quickly, having no one to share tongues with, and headed into the apprentices' den when he noticed that the others were doing the same. He saw Whisperpaw mew a goodnight to Emberpaw, turning and heading towards the medicine cat den on the other side of the camp.

The inside of the apprentices' den was much larger than that of the nursery, warm, dark and dry. Havenpaw waited as the others settled down, their conversations blurring together with tiredness, and tried to find an unoccupied nest.

"Not here, _stray_ ," Stormpaw, the eldest apprentice snapped as Havenpaw tried to take the nest next to his. His blue eyes flashed with annoyance, and his dark gray pelt was bristling. "I don't want you anywhere near my nest."

"Not here, either," Ravenpaw added from where she and Duskpaw were curled up in two nests next to each other in the corner of the den. Their dark pelts blended in with the shadows of the den, rendering them almost invisible in the darkness but for their identical luminous amber eyes. "We've had to spend enough time so close to you."

Havenpaw burned with humiliation. He'd thought that being an apprentice might have meant that the clan would be more accepting of him…but that clearly wasn't the case.

"Here, Havenpaw," came a gentle mew. He looked up to see Brookpaw, Stormpaw's much milder sister. She raised her head, the white spots on her pale gray pelt gleaming in the darkness. "Next to me."

Havenpaw gratefully stepped over to the nest next to hers, which bordered another occupied nest occupied with a vibrantly dappled pelt. _Emberpaw_ , he realized, as the older apprentice looked up with narrowed eyes. Havenpaw fought the urge to flinch away from both the ferocity shining through his gold eye and the lurid scar that slashed across his green eye. Even though Emberpaw's disfigurement and the reason for it was well-known throughout the clan, he'd never seen him so close. Ripplewind had commented many times that it was a miracle from StarClan that Emberpaw hadn't been blinded in his one eye for life.

"This won't be a problem, will it, Emberpaw?" Brookpaw asked, her mew still soft but edged with a hard steel that made it suddenly all the more obvious that she was not nearly as delicate as she seemed. Emberpaw snorted, blinking dismissively at Havenpaw.

"It won't be a problem at all," he said, turning so that his back was to Havenpaw and curling up inside his nest.

Havenpaw sighed, resting his head on his paws and wrapping his tail tightly around himself. He was one step closer to becoming a SkyClan warrior, but he doubted whether he would ever truly be one of them.


	5. A Respite - Allegiances and a Prophecy

The slender gray tom opened bright blue eyes, blinking up at the star-frosted trees. He stumbled to his paws, staring around at him in surprise. He'd gone to the Moonpool only two sunrises ago...what had come up so recently that was so important that their warrior ancestors had to tell him now?

"Ripplewind."

Ripplewind started, whipping around to come face-to-face with a beautiful gray she-cat almost identical to himself. He let out a delighted purr, bounding up towards her and brushing up against her.

"Breezefeather! I haven't seen you in moons," he mewed.

Breezefeather murmured her agreement, but pulled away very quickly. Her blue eyes were solemn as she gazed at SkyClan's medicine cat, and Ripplewind knew immediately that his sister had not visited his dreams simply to chat idly.

"Ripplewind, StarClan has a message for you - for SkyClan. Listen well, and use this knowledge with wisdom. We do not know what it means, simply that it is vital to the survival of the clans as we know it."

Ripplewind's eyes widened. "Breezefeather..."

"Listen to me, Ripplewind," Breezefeather said firmly, her voice suddenly fierce and her eyes blazing. " _Beware the darkness in two hearts. Together, scars and shadows will bring about a storm that quenches the blazing forest_."

"Scars and shadows..." Ripplewind murmured, his eyes clouded with confusion, deep in thought. His mind flashed to the image of a young cat, his eyes haunted with agony and his face split by a lurid scar, sleeping fretfully in his den. "Emberpaw? It can't be...Breezefeather, you have to tell me more!" He begged. "I don't know enough to help the clan, Breezefeather, please!"

Breezefeather shook her head, her eyes deep pools of sadness. "Not even I know what it means, brother."

"But...who's the other cat? Who else? Not - not Whisperpaw?"

Breezefeather closed her eyes. "There is a stranger in SkyClan's midst, Ripplewind. Left alone, the darkness that shrouds his origins may spread to his mind, his heart."

Realization dawned on Ripplewind like an ice-cold current had swept him off his paws in the stream. A strange, oddly-patterned silver kit, found by Sunstripe only earlier this day...

"Havenkit?"

Breezefeather dipped her head, beginning to fade.

"No!" Ripplewind yowled desperately. "Breezefeather, you have to tell me more! How do I stop this?"

With a sickening lurch, Ripplewind found himself back in his nest, blinking up at the ceiling of the medicine den.

 _The darkness in two hearts..._

Ripplewind shook his head bleakly, wondering if there was anything he could do but...to wait.

* * *

 **Allegiances**

 **SkyClan**

 **Leader:**

Aspenstar – large, handsome dappled black, red and gold tom with a white chest and gold eyes

 **Deputy:**

Hazelnose – graceful brown tabby she-cat

 _Apprentice, Stormpaw_

 **Medicine Cat(s):**

Ripplewind – slender gray tom with piercing blue eyes

 _Apprentice, Whisperpaw_

 **Warriors:**

Sunstripe – large, bracken-coloured tom with pale, darker ginger markings

 _Apprentice, Havenpaw_

Larktail – dark gray she-cat

 _Apprentice, Ravenpaw_

Falconleap – light brown tom with a white chest and paws

 _Apprentice, Emberpaw_

Cypressfur – long-haired dark brown tabby tom

Robinpelt – mottled brown she-cat

 _Apprentice, Brookpaw_

Acornfall – golden-brown tom

Feathermist – pale gray she-cat with darker gray markings

Briarthorn – dark gray tabby she-cat

 _Apprentice, Duskpaw_

Ebonyflower – sleek black she-cat

Nettlefur – mottled brown tom

 **Apprentices:**

Stormpaw – dark gray tom

Brookpaw – pale gray she-cat with white patches

Whisperpaw – light gray tabby tom with gold eyes

Emberpaw – dappled black, red and gold tom with white chest and paws, one gold eye and one green eye, thick scar across green eye

Ravenpaw – black she-cat with green eyes

Duskpaw – black tom with blue eyes

Havenpaw – small silver tom with unusual black markings and a white belly

 **Queens:**

Honeypounce – very pale ginger she-cat (mother to Gingerkit, a pale ginger she-kit and Fleetkit, a black tom)

 **Elders:**

Foxtail – russet tom with a large, bushy tail

Willowstep – light gray-and-white she-cat

 **ShadowClan**

 **Leader:**

Scorchstar - enormous dark gray tom with black paws

 **Deputy:**

Darkwing - black tom with dark amber eyes

 **Medicine Cat(s):**

Silverstone - elegant silver tabby she-cat

 _Apprentice, Rowanpaw_

 **Warriors:**

Ambertail - dark ginger she-cat with golden eyes

 _Apprentice, Pinepaw_

Snakefang - dark-furred, broad-shouldered tom with distinctive ruff around neck

 **ThunderClan**

 **Leader:**

Fallowstar - golden she-cat with bright green eyes

 **Deputy:**

Ashclaw - broad-shouldered brown tabby tom with long claws

 **Medicine Cat(s):**

Paledawn - very pale gray she-cat with blue eyes

 **RiverClan**

 **Leader:**

Stonestar - slate-gray tom with a limp from an old battle wound

 **Deputy:**

Petalnose - pretty tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat with green eyes

 **Medicine Cat(s):**

Mistblossom - gray mackerel tabby she-cat

 **WindClan**

 **Leader:**

Ivystar - slender gray tabby she-cat with green eyes

 **Deputy:**

Smokefoot - white tom with gray paws and green eyes

 **Medicine Cat(s):**

Redshine - sleek russet tom with amber eyes

 _Apprentice, Rosebriar_

* * *

 **A/N: I originally didn't really want to do this, because I knew I wouldn't use half of the characters I made up names for anyway. But to keep myself from getting confused, and so you guys can follow along, here are the allegiances as of the last chapter. I've only added leaders, deputies, and medicine cats for the other clans, unless there's been a cat from the clan that's already been mentioned. It's easier for me to have a list to refer back to with the common characters I'll be using. I might update it again if I feel that I've added so many characters that it's started to get messy.**

 **Also, I added a short thing with Ripplewind, and when he received the prophecy. I might change it, I'm not sure whether I like it or not at the moment.**

 **Thanks for reading. Reviews are appreciated, but not necessary. Enjoy.**

 **\- Cacodaemonic**


	6. Chapter 3

Emberpaw's shoulder hit the hard-packed earth of the training clearing with a sickening _thud_ , sending a jolt through his entire body. Falconleap leaped backwards, shaking out his dust-filled pelt and regarding his apprentice in concern.

"Maybe we should take a break," he meowed. "We've been training this entire morning –"

"No!" Emberpaw snarled, staggering to his paws. His head spun from the force of the impact. He could tell that Falconleap was holding back, knew that he wasn't using all the strength he had, but that only made Emberpaw more furious with himself. He was so close to becoming a warrior – Stormpaw and Brookpaw were less than a half-moon older than he was, and their warrior assessment was in only a few days. He should have been able to hold his own against Falconleap.

"Emberpaw, I –"

Emberpaw flung himself back at Falconleap before he'd finished, his paws outstretched to slam into his mentor's shoulders. As quick as lightning, Falconleap darted to the side, meeting Emberpaw with raised forepaws and batting him out of the air, intended to throw Emberpaw off balance so that he would land heavily on his side. Emberpaw twisted desperately in the air, skidding as he landed but still upright on all four paws, and without pausing even to catch his breath, he streaked towards Falconleap, so low to the ground that his belly skimmed the earth, aimed to knock Falconleap's paws out from underneath him.

Falconleap was ready, though, and leapt into the air so that Emberpaw's swipe met nothing but dust and air. He plummeted downwards, paws extended to grab onto Emberpaw and pin him down. Emberpaw flipped himself onto his back, meeting Falconleap once again with outstretched paws. He saw Falconleap try to turn in midair to avoid him, but this time, the tactic didn't work – with one powerful upward thrust of his paws, Emberpaw felt his hind paws connect with Falconleap, sending him flying across the training clearing and landing heavily on his side.

Emberpaw was on top of Falconleap in mere seconds, snarling as he held down his mentor's shoulders. Falconleap's eyes were clouded with pain at first, but moments later, they had cleared, so that he was blinking up bemusedly at his apprentice.

"I definitely wasn't expecting that," Falconleap said mildly, still pinned down on his back. "But it was undoubtedly effective. Congratulations, Emberpaw," he added as Emberpaw released him, rising to his paws and shaking his pelt free of dust once more. "I ache all over. Let's take a break, shall we? For me," he meowed hastily, when he saw Emberpaw about to protest. "Because I have no doubt that you could go until sundown if I didn't stop you."

"Okay, then," Emberpaw conceded sullenly. They'd spent a lot more time on battle practice than what was usual for an apprentice, at Emberpaw's insistence. Falconleap seemed to have thought that Emberpaw wouldn't want to fight after the disastrous battle against ThunderClan, but almost as soon as Ripplewind had reluctantly allowed him to resume training, he'd thrown himself back into battle training.

He couldn't deny that Aspenstar's cold indifference towards him was painful. He was right, though, that the scar on Emberpaw's face would forever serve as a reminder of his failure and his shame, his easy defeat at the paws of an enemy. Emberpaw had been chosen to attend his first Gathering only a few sunrises later, the wound on his face only half-healed, and against Ripplewind's vehement objections. Aspenstar had watched as Emberpaw flinched away from Ashclaw's gaze, from where he sat at the base of the tree. His father rarely spoke to him now, and if he did, it was only ever a reprimand or an order.

 _Ashclaw will pay one day_ , he thought viciously to himself, flexing his unsheathed claws almost unconsciously.

"Emberpaw?"

Emberpaw blinked, registering his mentor's concerned gaze. Falconleap seemed as if he wanted to mention his behaviour, but apparently thought better of it and instead changed the topic. "Let's get in some tree-climbing practice, and then we'll hunt when the sun's gone down a bit."

Emberpaw nodded, following his mentor as he led them out of the training clearing and into the forest where enormous trees loomed above them, sending sunlit patterns dancing across the forest floor.

Falconleap stopped suddenly, his ears twitching.

"What?" Emberpaw demanded, growing frustrated. The faster they finished with tree-training, the sooner they'd be able to hunt, and then Emberpaw would be free to practice battle moves by himself, or with Stormpaw, if the other apprentice had finished training by that time. He didn't particularly like Stormpaw very much – they'd been perfectly friendly as kits, especially since Larktail had taken care of both him and Whisperpaw alongside Stormpaw and Brookpaw after their mother had died – but he'd become insufferably arrogant since he'd been apprenticed to the clan deputy. At least he was always willing to train with Emberpaw.

"I suppose we'll be having company," Falconleap said. "It's really for the best – StarClan knows you could do with some patience, and you really should be aware of your fellow clanmates' strengths and weaknesses, anyway. Though," he added under his breath so that Emberpaw had to strain his ears to hear him. "This clanmate might have many more weaknesses than strengths."

Emberpaw paced forward with Falconleap, spotting Sunstripe at the base of a wide tree. His head was tilted upwards, and he was calling out instructions to what Emberpaw assumed was his apprentice, frustration starting to edge his mew.

"Grip the tree trunk with your claws, Havenpaw – and reach farther to pull yourself up! The battle could be over by the time you get high enough to drop down!"

Emberpaw was able to glimpse the distinct silver pelt of his denmate through the branches of the tree – not that it took much effort. Not only did Havenpaw's fur stand out in stark contrast against the dusky colours of the forest, he had barely gotten a fox-length up the tree. As Emberpaw watched, Havenpaw clumsily hauled himself up onto a tree branch with sheathed paws, swaying precariously backwards and forwards.

Falconleap let out a disgruntled huff, glancing between Havenpaw to Sunstripe. "Perhaps Emberpaw can teach your apprentice a few tips?"

Emberpaw opened his mouth to protest. He wasn't the only one – Sunstripe's tail was twitching in annoyance, and Havenpaw, from his unsteady perch on the tree branch, looked indignant. Before any of them could say anything, however, Falconleap continued. "Emberpaw, I think it would do you some good to learn how to teach the…weaker cats in the clan."

Emberpaw fought back a growl of annoyance, and was only half successful. "I'm not a mentor."

"You will be, one day," Falconleap pointed out. "That is, if you don't run yourself straight to StarClan out of exhaustion first, the way you're pushing yourself."

"I'm training to be a warrior," Emberpaw argued. He could feel Sunstripe's disapproving gaze on him, no doubt because of his open challenge towards his mentor, but refused to give the senior warrior the satisfaction of watching him back down. "And that means battle training. Not wasting my time helping this stupid scrap of fur."

"Fine then," Falconleap said mildly – surprising Emberpaw. Falconleap never actually argued with him, not at length, and never with the same heat that Emberpaw always forced behind his words. But he'd never backed down so quickly and obviously before, either. "But we might as well do some training here. See if you can find some prey around here, we haven't worked on your balance and precision in leaping for a while."

Emberpaw's annoyance was still simmering, shallow beneath his pelt. "I'll have to climb to the top, with the racket he's making," he said irritably, flicking his tail at Havenpaw, who was scrabbling ineffectively at the trunk of the tree.

"Then I suppose you'd better get started, seeing as you have a bit of a climb ahead of you," Falconleap agreed. Emberpaw's whiskers twitched – Falconleap always had a way of invoking a strange combination of irritation and amusement in, really, any cat.

In one bound, Emberpaw had made it onto one of the lower-hanging branches – and was met with a startled squeak. His landing had jostled the branch enough that Havenpaw's hind paws had slipped and he was now scrabbling at the branch, his eyes wide with panic.

For a brief moment, Emberpaw considered letting Havenpaw fall. They weren't far from the ground at all, and Emberpaw would have been able to land on the ground easily, lightly, from a distance like this – but Havenpaw was about half his size.

He clamped his teeth around Havenpaw's scruff just as the smaller apprentice started to slip off the branch entirely. Havenpaw jerked, startled, going very stiff in Emberpaw's jaws.

"Grab _on_ ," Emberpaw growled, trying to speak around Havenpaw's still-fluffy kit fur. "You have _claws_ , don't you?"

Havenpaw unsheathed his claws, flailing and scratching faintly at the branch. Emberpaw let out a snarl of frustration that made the smaller apprentice squirm. His neck was starting to ache with Havenpaw's dull weight.

"Sink your claws in." His growl was muffled by Havenpaw's fur. "Are you afraid of hurting the tree or something? For StarClan's sake."

Havenpaw seemed about to argue, but clearly thought better of it. He unsheathed his sharp little claws, sinking them as deep as they would go into the wood.

Emberpaw released him immediately, making Havenpaw let out a startled mew of surprise, but he clung tightly to the branch. He didn't seem like he would be falling any time soon, even if he couldn't seem to be able to get himself up, so Emberpaw bunched his haunches again and propelled himself higher up the tree. When he had gotten a few fox-lengths up, he parted his jaws to taste the air.

 _Squirrel_. He caught a glimpse of gray fur a moment later, skittering along the branch of a neighbouring tree. They ate birds, mostly – squirrels were a little too heavy – but it would no doubt be appreciated by the elders.

Emberpaw stalked lightly across the branch, being careful not to make any sound. He couldn't get too close, or the squirrel would notice him, but if he leapt, he would only have one chance. He narrowed his eyes, judging the distance between the branches and whether the squirrel's perch would support his weight. He tensed in preparation.

With a powerful thrust from his hind legs, Emberpaw leapt. The squirrel froze and tried to dart away, but Emberpaw seized hold of the branch with his claws and lunged forwards. He snatched the squirrel up in his jaws and bit down before the squirrel could even squeal in terror.

Emberpaw felt smug with satisfaction. He was already turning out to be one of the best hunters in the clan, and soon enough, he would be the best warrior that SkyClan had ever seen.

* * *

"Good work," Falconleap congratulated Emberpaw around a mouthful of feathers. He was carrying a particularly plump starling that Emberpaw had managed to catch. Emberpaw mumbled in acknowledgement, his neck aching under the weight of the squirrel. "You're free, now. Take what you want from the fresh-kill pile. You've done more than enough today for the clan."

Emberpaw nodded. He'd been very successful in his hunt, catching a fairly large thrush and, to his surprise, a small woodpecker. It was scrawny and beaky, but it was fresh-kill nonetheless. He would give the thrush to Ripplewind and Whisperpaw, and then he would be off.

Whisperpaw was the only one in the medicine den when Emberpaw padded in. He was bent over a neat little pile of herbs that gave off a pungent scent and made Emberpaw's nose wrinkle. His ears twitched and he glanced up just as Emberpaw came in.

"How'd you notice me?" Emberpaw demanded, dropping the thrush down at his littermate's paws. "I was downwind. And there's no way you could have heard me."

Whisperpaw purred briefly, his whiskers twitching in amusement. "You're my littermate, Emberpaw. I know you." He bent his neck to sniff at the thrush. "Nice catch. I'll wait until Ripplewind comes back to eat, though – Foxtail's got a cough, and he's checking up on him," Whisperpaw explained.

"Anything serious?"

"No, just a tickle in his throat. I could've treated it, I think, but Foxtail's too old and cranky to listen to anyone but Ripplewind."

Whisperpaw stepped up to Emberpaw. "Thanks for the thrush," he purred, butting his head playfully against Emberpaw's chin. Emberpaw was quite a bit larger than Whisperpaw, now, and his shoulders were much broader and his muscles thicker from battle training.

He cast his gaze around and saw Stormpaw by the apprentices' den. He was about to trot over when he noticed that he was deep in the middle of recounting something to the two identical dark-furred apprentices. Ravenpaw especially seemed to be hanging onto his every word, though Duskpaw's eyes were shining with interest, too.

Emberpaw had to stop himself from rolling his eyes. He would leave Stormpaw to his bragging, then. Maybe Brookpaw would be up for training. She wasn't nearly as strong and powerful as her brother, but she was as swift as a WindClan cat and much cleverer. But another glance around the camp told him that Brookpaw and her mentor, Robinpelt, were nowhere to be found.

He suppressed a hiss of annoyance. It wasn't as if he could train alone.

 _There's Havenpaw,_ a voice in the back of his head suggested. He shook his head with a snort of disgust. Even if Havenpaw had shown any promise at all in being a warrior, he'd been apprenticed only a few short days ago. In any case, Emberpaw was determined to be the best warrior the clans had ever seen – and he could hardly do that by training with an _outsider._

Resigned, Emberpaw padded towards where Hazelnose was assigning a border patrol.

"Mark the border by ShadowClan," she instructed, the white tip of her tail flicking back and forth. "There's been a lot of scent there recently, and though they haven't crossed the border, we need to make sure it doesn't happen. Cypressfur, you'll lead the patrol, with, let's see, Acornfall, Ebonyflower, and…"

"I'll go," Emberpaw volunteered quickly. A border patrol might give him the opportunity to show his skills to someone other than his mentor for once.

"And Emberpaw," Hazelnose agreed.

Emberpaw padded up beside Cypressfur, a long-haired tom, who was waiting by the camp entrance.

"Does Falconleap know you're here?" He asked in a deep mew. Emberpaw bristled.

"Falconleap said I was free for the rest of the day," he snapped. It was infuriating, he was as good as a warrior already, and he was nearly as big as Cypressfur by now.

A shadow loomed over Emberpaw, and he jerked around.

"Show some respect to the warriors."

Emberpaw forced himself not to shrink away from his father's coldly indifferent golden-yellow gaze. "Yes, Aspenstar," he muttered, his gaze flicking down to the ground, but not before he saw Aspenstar's expression twist as if he had mistakenly taken a bite of crowfood.

"And show some respect to _me_ ," Aspenstar continued, with the edge of a growl in his voice. "I am your clan leader."

Emberpaw's clan leader…and nothing more. Emberpaw's ears flattened back against his head and he whirled off into the forest without checking back for the rest of the patrol. When Cypressfur had caught up, with Acornfall and Ebonyflower, none of them made mention of the interaction between Emberpaw and Aspenstar.

The border patrol was uneventful, and Emberpaw remained sullen, despite Acornfall's efforts to lighten up the mood with his customary teasing and jokes. Emberpaw wasn't focused on the patrol, however, even at the border.

 _I'll show you_ , he thought viciously. _I'll show you all. One day, I'll be the one demanding respect from you._


End file.
